1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the removal of tissue from a patient, and more particularly, to apparatus and methods using combinations of ultrasonic and cryogenic energy to remove tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
Human skin is the largest organ of the body and acts as an indicator reflecting various internal and external health related ailments. The skin protects the body from common physical, chemical, and microbiological invasion that humans are naturally exposed to in their everyday living environment.
Skin disorders are generally defined as diseases affecting the skin. Skin disorders frequently affect multiple layers of skin. Some common skin disorders include wrinkles, scars, warts, and non-metastatic melanomas, basilomas, human papilloma viruses, and various pre-cancerous and cancerous skin growths. Some skin disorders are local growths in the skin caused by viral infections, which are typically not contagious.
Typical methods for treating skin disorders include surgical removal, chemical peeling, and cryogenic and electrical treatments. These methods frequently have the disadvantages of destroying surrounding healthy tissue, increasing infection rates, high rates of recurrence, and/or substantial pain or discomfort following the procedure. Further, many existing methods are complicated and imprecise. This lack of precision in targeting the unhealthy tissue can result in a failure to fully remove the necessary harmful tissue, and also can result in damage to the surrounding healthy skin tissue. Any unhealthy tissue not removed can quickly become the basis for recurrence of the disorder. In addition, the treated tissue can become a point for introduction of infections or contaminants, because of the damage to or destruction of surrounding tissues. Therefore, a need exists for apparatus and methods, which target and completely or effectively completely remove diseased tissues without damage to the surrounding tissues.